Glycemic Index of Date Cultivars and Date-based Products

Assessment of the Glycemic Index of Various Saudi Date Cultivars and Date-based Products. in Healthy Adults

Dates are widely consumed worldwide and hold substantial cultural importance in many Middle Eastern communities. Despite growing interest in measuring the glycemic response and glycemic index of foods for both research and practical applications, studies examining the glycemic properties of different date cultivars and their derived products remain limited. This study aims to determine the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of commonly consumed Saudi date cultivars and their derived products in healthy subjects, and to evaluate their potential impact on postprandial glucose responses. The study will consist of 4 phases as follows: phase 1: Date varieties at Tamer stage; phase 2: date varieties at Rutab stage; phase 3: Date's debs; phase 4: Date's paste. For each phase, ten subjects will be asked to attend the laboratory in the morning after an overnight fast on several occasions. Each visit will be separated from the next by a "washout" day. The reference food, 50 g of glucose dissolve in 250 ml water will be tested on 3 alternating days to diminish day to day variation of glucose tolerance. 50g equivalent carbohydrates of dates will be consumed with 250 ml of water. Participants will be blinded to the type of the dates. Glucose will be measured in capillary blood samples following the two hours of the test meal consumption, at 15 min interval (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min) . A qualified technician will perform all blood glucose measurements.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Glycaemic Response Measurements
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Date Cultivars and Date-based Products

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Saudi Arabia
  • Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    • King Saud University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years
• Normotensive (normal blood pressure)
• Normal fasting glucose levels
• Not taking any prescription medication
• Able and willing to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Morbid obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m²)
• Pre-diabetic status
• Pregnancy
• Any gastrointestinal disorders
• History of gastroenteritis within the preceding six months
• Previous gastrointestinal surgeries
• Smoking
• Presence of chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, rheumatoid arthritis)
• Presence of acute illnesses (e.g., respiratory or urinary tract infections)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Single Group - Crossover Consumption of Date Products and Glucose Reference; All participants will receive the glucose reference solution on three separate occasions and will consume the date or date-based product in individual sessions. Participants serve as their own control in a crossover design. Capillary blood glucose will be measured at several time points (0-120 minutes) after consumption to assess the glycemic index and load for each product.

Other: Date Cultivars and Date-based Products; Participants will consume 50 g of available carbohydrates from each date or date-based product, including 13 Tamer varieties, 12 Rutab varieties, 3 types of date paste, and 3 types of date molasses. Each product will be tested in a separate session.. The intervention will also include consumption of a glucose reference solution (50 g glucose) on three separate occasions.; Other Names: Tamer; Rutab; Date paste; Date molasses

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Glycemic Index	The glycemic index of each date cultivar and date-based product will be determined on designated test days by calculating the incremental area under the blood glucose response curve (iAUC) over the 120-minute postprandial period following consumption of a portion containing 50 g of available carbohydrates, relative to the iAUC of a reference glucose solution. Blood glucose measurements will be obtained at baseline (fasting) and at predefined time points up to 120 minutes after ingestion.	Baseline (fasting) and up to 120 minutes post-consumption on each test day.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Glycemic Load (GL) of Fresh and Processed Date Products	The glycemic load of each date-based product will be calculated on each test day using the measured glycemic index and the available carbohydrate content of a typical serving, based on blood glucose measurements obtained at baseline and up to 120 minutes post-consumption.	Baseline (fasting) and up to 120 minutes post-consumption on each test day.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: King Saud University
• Investigators: Study Director: Maha Alhussain, PhD, King Saud University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Brouns F, Bjorck I, Frayn KN, Gibbs AL, Lang V, Slama G, Wolever TM. Glycaemic index methodology. Nutr Res Rev. 2005 Jun;18(1):145-71. doi: 10.1079/NRR2005100.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 16, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 25, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 25, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 3, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): December 16, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 31, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 24, 2025
• Last Verified: May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: glycemic index; Glycemic load; Dates; Tamer; Rutab; Date paste; Date molasses
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24/1428

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Notably, individual participant data will not be shared to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the study participants. The data includes personal health information and making them publicly available might risk the identification of participants despite efforts to anonymize them.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No